1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to cooking ovens and, more particularly, to control of the oven temperature.
2. Description of Prior Art
Cooking ovens, for example baking ovens, convection ovens and the like are widely used in restaurants for cooking a variety of food products. Many fast food restaurant menu items require rapid cooking with precise control of cooking temperature, cooking time and other parameters.
It is known to shorten the time to bring an oven from a cool temperature to a cooking temperature by increasing the amount of heat applied during a preheat phase. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,321 to Gerl discloses the use of both a normal heating device and a partial heating device during a preheat phase to shorten the heat up time.
It is also known to cool an oven after a cook cycle ends by operation of a fan in order to prevent damage to the oven or injury to the user. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,436 to Keogh discloses a convection oven in which a fan that is powered on before an oven door is opened. The fan continues to operate after the door is opened to an ajar distance. The fan is automatically turned off when the oven door is substantially opened.
It is also known to automatically cool a toy oven when a cook cycle ends. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,451,745 to Goldberg et al. discloses the use of a fan that is turned on to cool a toy oven when power to a heater times out for a cooking cycle. An interlock maintains the oven door locked while the fan is on, thereby preventing access and possible injury to a child. A timer or a temperature responsive device eventually turn the fan off and frees the interlock.
Conventional ovens lack a temperature control that accounts for stabilizing the oven temperature before starting a cooking procedure and/or that employs a standby temperature and/or an automatic cool down procedure.